Well, I thought my regular season hockey pool team would make an awesome playoff team, but I was dead wrong this year. @_@ Who would've believed that all of Colorado, Toronto and Detroit would get knocked out? Okay, so Toronto was kind of expected (and I'm not even mentioning Edmonton, although I had Salo), but Colorado and Detroit? Since they fell the conference is looking pretty wide open.
It might be kind of disloyal to my Canadian pride, but I'd kind of like to see a Jersey-Anaheim final. I honestly think the Ducks could do it; they're on a torrid streak right now, kind of like Carolina was last year. And Jersey, well, I guess it's because of the battle of Ontario, but I'm not all that fond of the Sens, while I do like Brodeur.
Anyway, back to my stats, here they are (so pathetic):
G
A
P
PIM
PPP
SOG
Sakic, Joe
6
3
9
2
3
21
Shanahan, Brendan
1
1
2
4
1
17
Nolan, Owen
0
2
2
2
1
15
Tanguay, Alex
2
1
3
4
1
10
Forsberg, Peter
2
6
8
4
4
23
Yzerman, Steve
0
1
1
0
2
10
Lidstrom, Nicklas
0
2
2
0
1
15
Kaberle, Tomas
2
1
3
0
2
11
TOTAL
13
17
30
16
15
122
SA
GA
SVS
WIN
SV%
Salo, Tommy
161
18
143
2
0.888
(ToT) Just looking at this reminds me of how sad the playoffs have been this year. My poor Avs!
Woohoo! Thanks for the heads up on this one, Lisa!! Heavy Eric's Canuck songs are all available for download now!! (^o^) I love his songs!! As with all things good and related to hockey, I wish there was something like them for my Avs!! =3
Scarily enough, I think the Avs losing made me even more crazed about them. Tremble in fear. Mwa ha ha ha ha!!! ^_~
Apart from their game six and seven wins against the Blues, I don't think I've ever been as happy about the Canucks winning as I was last night! ^_^ Even though one game does not a series make, I was glad the Canucks were able to take down the Wild, in OT no less--there's something like poetic justice in that!! Bwa ha ha! Yes, I am evil and vindictive, but I hope the Canucks burn their (the Wild's) butts!!
Feh. The Sens won too. Theoretically I should be happy since they're a Canadian team, but I can't bring myself to really care about the East anymore. I actually kind of hope the Devils go to the Cup finals. Go Brodeur. =P
Oh yeah, and Lauren has joined the Team Canada Crew as Adam Foote. I was considering just signing her up for the Blueliners Crew as well, but then again, it's better to ask, or let a person ask for themself, right? ^_~ (Whoops, "themself" is totally ungrammatical! Ah well, you know what I mean, and "him or herself" is just too ungainly.)
I was pleasantly surprised to check my email and to find a message from Lauren this morning. ^_^ I love making new hockey friends, but it's extra nice to be making a new AVS hockey friend! She's been a fan three times as many years as I have, i.e. 3 years ^_~. One of her posts on April 24th really mirrors my feelings on the Avs' loss: the shock, the disappointment, the feeling of unreality.
Her site/blog is also pretty cool, so check it out! I LOVE her person of the week sidebar! My favourite tidbit on Hinote is this:
Favorite Thing to Do While Traveling: Dan, Scott Parker, Greg De Vries, and Peter Forsberg play Age of Empires Conquerors Expansion Set against each other on their laptops.
Isn't that cute? =D Ah, it makes me like Forsberg even more now! Speaking of Hinote, that also brings back memories of that beautiful pass to Willsie for the gamewinning goal in game two (one of the rare games I was able to sit down and watch most of). Did I mention here then? I probably did, so I won't do it again, but yeah, that was a really pretty play. *sigh*
Oh yeah, it's Lauren's birthday today!! ^_^ Happy Birthday Lauren!! Hope it's a good one!
Quadruple OT?!? Go Ducks go! Wonder if they're aiming to break that 6 OT period record... Too bad I'm so tired I have to sleep right now. Wonder how it'll all work out...
Well well well...Halfway through the second period and Anaheim is up 3-1 on Dallas. This is going to be an extremely interesting series...Personally I hope that Anaheim gets at least to the Conference finals this year. Yay Giguere!
Man, since my friend has started getting into hockey and chose Modano as "her player" I thought I'd look around the net to see what the fuss is all about. I mean, I drafted him in the pool, and I'd definitely say he's my favourite American player (probably the one and only, actually), but... *shrugs* I guess I'm biased since he's not Canadian, he's not on a Canadian team (remember, I did start watching hockey during the Olympics, so the Canadia factor is huge), and he's not an Av.
Nonetheless, if anyone had really pushed me, even from the beginning of the year I probably would've said that of the hockey players that I know of, Modano's got the most aesthetically pleasing face. =P Sounds weird coming from me, doesn't it? I still contend that I'm not very able to judge whether or not someone's really good-looking or not (my "ugly, not-ugly" theory) but yeah, I'd say that Modano falls on a very different side of the "not-ugly" spectrum compared to say, Brind'Amour, who I'd also consider "not-ugly". Anyway, that doesn't really have anything to do with my opinion on Modano, or the point of this post, so moving on...
Did you know Modano's got his own official website? Mike Modano.com. After skimming through the site, I must say my admiration for him as a person (and not just a hockey player) has gone up dramatically. It's really sweet that he's got a corner for his mother on the site, and that it's so clear how much he loves and appreciates his family. I tend to like family guys; I started to admire Smyth because I saw how he and his family interacted on the first "Reflections of Olympic Gold" dvd. Not only does Modano talk about his love for his family, he also shows his appreciation for it through his foundation. I highly recommend that you read his blurb on "Why I created the Mike Modano Foundation". After reading that, I don't see how anyone could possibly maintain a dislike for the guy. He's building a house for 250-300 abused and neglected children. =*) That's so awesome.
He's also participating in Jocks to GIs Direct--an awful title, but a nice concept. Funny thing is Brind'Amour is too. I say funny because apparently Brind'Amour is the only player, according to Mike Modano.com that Modano actually got into a fight with! =P
Honestly, I'm tempted to join his fan club (aka "Modano's All-Star VIP Club") even though it costs a whopping $43.25 US, and I'm not even that big a fan. If it stated somewhere that the money would go towards his foundation (I'm assuming it would, but it's not stated explicitly anywhere) I probably would join, for a year at any rate. Anyway, this leads me to the subject I brought up in the title of the post: I wanna Sakic fanclub!! If Modano can have one, why can't Sakic? *sigh* I guess it's just part of his understated (is that even the right word?) personality. As much as I'd like one, I can't see Sakic as the type of guy to organize his own fanclub--same with Yzerman. It's really too bad though, because I'd join a Sakic one without any hesitation whatsoever, ditto for Yzerman. Actually, I thought it was pretty interesting that the site called him "the American version of Steve Yzerman". If that's an accurate description then I guess it's not particularly surprising that I could come to like him as well--too bad he plays for the Stars. I don't really like Turco anymore ("Sacred Cow", diving, and all that), and my impression of the goaltender usually affects my impression of the team.
I didn't like Hasek, I didn't like Detroit. I like Irbe, I like Carolina. The one exception I can think of is Edmonton. I think Salo's a bum (in the nicest way possible, of course), but I still like Edmonton. Then again, I don't have anything against Salo in principle (like Hasek or Turco) I just got frustrated by his mediocre play, so maybe Edmonton isn't even an exception. Anyway, I'm rather babbling now, so I'll end here. I still wanna Sakic fan club though!
Well, after feeling the crushing pain from watching my team get eliminated when by rights they should've beaten their opponents easily, I feel like I should apologize for my unseemly gloating over Anaheim's triumph. I'm still happy for Anaheim, but now I can truly sympathize with Detroit fans. Overtime losses especially are bitter. I mean, the Avs had SO many chances. They have so many more quality chances than the Wild, I really believed that eventually they would be rewarded with the win.
So yeah, I still don't really like Detroit, but I wish the Ducks hadn't swept them the way they did, because losing that way is painful. I mean, my Avs losing in game seven is bad enough, so for Detroit fans it must be even worse.
Another thing I've learned is that I shouldn't tease the Team US women for crying when they only got silver, because I was upset enough to cry over my Avs losing, and they get this chance every year, they've won twice recently, AND I'm not even a player, so if I can cry, they've definitely got far more reason than me. Same with the world junior teams (male and female).
Anyway, I've pretty much been in a daze all day. It's like I've got a fever, but I don't. Plus I keeping seeing images of that horrible crowd around Roy when the Wild batted in that rebound, as well as seeing and hearing all the crossbars and posts the Avs hit during the regular periods as well as the OT--more about that in LS. (ToT)
It's crazy, but I never realized I cared this much about the Avs until they lost. I mean, I didn't really care about the Leafs. I was disappointed for Gilmour's sake, and because of the way they lost, but other than that I was pretty okay about it. The Avs though. Man, after the goal I just sat in front of the tv for a good two minutes with my mouth hanging open in shock. Even all today everything felt kind of surreal, like I had just imagined that horrible goal, and that the Avs would still have a chance to play. Really, it's pretty extraordinary that I've come to care this much about hockey in such a short period of time.
I guess another sign that I'm an Avs fan much more than a Leafs fan is that last year even though Toronto lost to Carolina, I still ended up liking the 'Canes. Compare that to my dislike of Detroit last year, and my newfound antipathy towards Minnesota. I know it's unfair, but after watching that game I really feel like I'm never going to like Minnesota, not even Park, although he's "the Asian NHL player".
*sigh* Man, I really do still feel awful about Colorado. The only possible good thing from this that I can see is that I imagine Roy will be coming back for another season next year now. No way he'd go out with his post season ending the way it did this year and last--knowing him he's going to go out in a blaze of glory or not at all!
I am literally ready to cry here. How could my Avs get knocked out by Minnesota? (ToT) Maybe I'm being vindictive, but I hope the Canucks beat the stuffing out the Wild in the next round.
Crap. I'm SO upset right now, I don't even want to write anymore. This is definitely the worst start of a birthday that I've ever had. Excuse me while I go cry. (I'm being totally literal here.)
I love Mogilny's sense of humour! Here's his comment today on Antropov's amazing recovery (from the Toronto Star):
Antropov's apparently-rapid return to health left Mogilny shaking his head, and joking that the 23-year-old Kazakh must have super-human recovery powers.
``Of course he can recover from it. He grew up near a nuclear power plant. That must be it. I think maybe he has an extra bone in there, too,'' Mogilny said.
And backtracking a bit, here're some quotes from an April 18th Star article, "Mogilny gearing up for game 5":
"I wasn't sure what was going on," said Mogilny of his confusion after the hit. "I tried to open my eyes a couple of times and I got really out there. Then I kept them closed. I saw a lot of good things when they were closed."
[. . .]
Off the ice, he reeled off a number of one-liners.
What about wearing a mouthguard?
"No reason. Trying to get rid of these teeth."
Domi said you're always concussed.
"I'm not used to getting hit in the head like Tie. Sometimes hits like that hurt."
Any problems during practice?
"Before they turned the lights on, it was a little difficult."
I called this one! For the Leafs, anyway. As soon as I saw that Colorado had lost, I said the Leafs had to win, because surely the hockey gods couldn't be that cruel! =Þ Seriously though, while I was watching the first OT period, I had a really good feeling, unlike that triple OT game. The Leafs were getting all kinds of amazing chances, and it was only fluke (I don't give Cechmanek enough credit to call it skill) that prevented them from scoring earlier. Philly was getting some chances too, but they weren't as good as Toronto's!
Tonight I went out to Bert & Ernies (a pub/bar type place) with some friends to watch the game. It was quite a fun experience; we did the whole wings and beer thing. Well, the guys did the beer thing, I had a sprite. I've gotta learn how to be more confidant when I go into bars and order soft drinks instead of alcohol. Oh, and I got carded, which isn't surprising considering that when I go to tutor at the high school, I still get mistaken for a student. =Þ
So yeah, it was really fun. People were all cheering, groaning, and whatnot together, quite loudly. I couldn't believe it, but some people were actually playing pool during the OT periods! I mean, c'mon, this is playoff hockey, with the Leafs facing elimination in OT, and you're playing pool?!
Anyway, after the game on the way back we passed by the ACC, and of course people were honking like mad. My friend started honking too, but his car's kind of old, so after a couple of hard honks, he ended up breaking the horn! ^_^ I told him it was a good way to go, if you're going to break your horn.
Wow, I'm so wired. Tomorrow is going to be an amazing day. If Toronto, Colorado, and Vancouver all win, well, I couldn't ask for a better early birthday present!
Oh oh, and before I forget, did you see the diving save Kaberle made? The one where he lost his helmet!! Hopefully this is a sign that he's starting to become a solid defensive player, as well as a "sublimely gifted offensive player"!! The cool thing was that Wesley made almost the exact same save just a bit earlier. ^_^ But yeah, Kaberle's save looked cooler since he lost his helmet. =D
Ah, I can't wait until tomorrow! Go Avs Go! Kick some Minnesota butt! Forsberg (or Sakic) with a hat trick!!! (^o^) Go Leafs Go! Kaberle with a pretty goal or assist! And Go Canucks Go!!!
Well, it's as if the playoff gods were trying to make up for that absolutely horrible day yesterday by having all of the teams I was rooting for today win! ^_^ I was SO happy to find out that Tampa had beat Washington on a power play in triple OT. It was especially sweet that St. Louis scored and Lecavalier assisted. When I was picking the winning teams for our playoff pool, I could only think of Jagr and Kolzig on Washington, so I went for Tampa because I like St. Louis and I thought Lecavalier was pretty good. So yeah, it's pretty sweet that not only did Tampa come back after two losses to take four straight, but also that the two players I was thinking about when I picked Tampa to win the series were the ones who were quite productive during the series.
The Canucks game, of course, was great fun. My friend from Vancouver came over to watch, plus I invited a whole bunch of other friends as well. In total I think there were nine of us watching the game. It's funny though, after watching Friday's game, Steph (the Vancouver friend) and I were totally able to predict this game. Right from the beginning we said that if the Canucks had a lead going into the third, the third was going to be really scary because they'd play sloppy and let the Blues come back really close. That's exactly what happened, of course. Just like Friday's game (which should've been 5-1 or 4-1, rather than 5-3), today's game should've been 4-1, rather than the 4-3 final score. The goals Vancouver let in were not impressive at all. Vancouver in their own zone in the third period is really really scary.
Ohlund's post-to-post-almost-goal was something else! We all thought it had to be a goal because the puck bounced out to the left of the left post. You'd think that it would only do that if it had gone into the net first, that it would've deflected in the opposite direction after hitting the post. Ah well, Ohlund didn't miss later, and that was a pretty sweet goal. The Sedins, as always, were a blast to watch. One day we really ought to try the drinking game--one shot everytime a Sedin hits the ice--but maybe with water rather than alcohol, considering my low tolerance.
A funny thing I've noticed is that even though I'm a Colorado fan, I probably know more Canucks players than Avalanche! It's just because Colorado's playing against another American team, so they don't get HNIC coverage. Even when the games are televised on TSN, they're often at the same time as the Leafs, and even though the Avs game is much better to watch than the Leafs, the ABC feed on TSN is really irritating to watch. I think it's the big honking ugly scorebox thing in the corner or something, but it doesn't look nearly as nice as the CBC broadcast, and that's on a 42-inch screen. It'd be even worse on the dinky tv I have in res. So yeah, I don't get/choose to see much of the Avs, but because I enjoy watching the Canucks games with my friend, I see a lot of the Canucks, and therefore recognize Canucks more readily than Avs. ^^;; Geh. I feel like I should be studying up on my Avs, I mean, they're supposed to be my favourite team!
Anyway, I'm going out to a bar to watch the Leafs game with some friends tomorrow night! As I've been saying over and over again, they'd darn well better win (both this game, and the series) so that Gilmour can get a chance to play! Quite frankly I probably wouldn't care so much if it wasn't for Gilmour (I still have my Avs after all), but it would be a totally inglorious way to end a career for Gilmour if he didn't get to play at least one playoff game for the Leafs. Maybe Desjardins' injury is just the break we needed--not that I'm happy that he's injured or anything, but since it happened, well, the Leafs had better be able to capitalize on the opportunity! And Kaberle better not have anymore giveaways! He's my second favourite player (even beating out Yzerman now), but dang if his defensive errors aren't frustrating as anything! He was what, +20 during the season, so I know he has the ability to be much more responsible in his own zone! Go Leafs Go!
Go Avs Go too! I don't havve any doubt that they'll win this series, but I'd really prefer that they win in six and get that extra little bit of rest. C'mon Avs!! Steamroll the Wild!
Colorado lost. Toronto lost. Edmonton lost. (ToT) WAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SO DEPRESSING!!!! Oh, and Kaberle had a giveaway that led to the second goal. =*( The third one was NOT his fault though, Lumme caused the two-on-one. XP Lumme!
Argh...Really not much to say, I'm so sad right now. All I can say is that the Canucks had darn well better win tomorrow, or it's going to be the worst hockey weekend ever.
Good for Bergeron, though. I was really impressed by his play; he sure didn't look like a rookie! His hit was SO amazing! Then he assisted on a goal too. He definitely deserved to be the third star.
Salo. *shakes head* Seems I was right to have no faith in him. Yeah, he redeemed himself somehow on those two breakaways, but those first two goals. I'm never ever ever picking him in a pool ever again, that's for certain!
Speaking of goalies, I used to think Turco was cool (mostly because of the Hockey News article) but after watching him try to get away with a slash, and a really blatant dive, I've rather changed my mind. That and the fact that he seems to think he's a "sacred cow" (if you watched the Satellite Hotstove, you'll get it) makes me irritated.
On the other hand, watching the interview with Giguere made me like him more than just the value of his jersey card. ^_~ His attitude was really humble, and I appreciate the fact that after being shuffled around so much he's finally come into his own for Anaheim. That photo of him making the save with his helmet off, I didn't even see that before. Way cool!
*sigh* So yeah, Toronto had darn well better win in seven, for Gilmour!!! Honestly I might not care so much if it wasn't for Gilmour. I mean, if my Avs were knocked out I don't think I'd be able to recover, but with Toronto, it's not unexpected so...Yeah, it's just for Gilmour's sake that I really really want the Leafs to win!
Yay! The game yesterday was so exciting! We were at church for the Good Friday service (cantata) but we made it back in time to catch the second period! Woohoo!! Everyone on the big line scored! That was such a fun period to watch. Bert's goal was so skillful! Awesome!
Too bad the third period was pretty awful. (-_-;) If the Canucks are planning on winning this series, they've gotta make sure they play a full sixty minutes! There were two back to back giveaways: the really scary one by Jovo and then another right after. Egad. That should've been a 5-1 game, not 5-3!
Anyway, the Leafs had better win today! They HAVE to get to the second round, for Gilmour! I'm pretty confident that the Avs will suceed in knocking out Minnesota though. =P That's why I'm wearing my Leafs jersey today instead of my Avs one: I figure the Leafs need all the support they can get!
Woohoo! I'm going a bit crew crazy, anyway, basically the same rules as the Team Canada Crew apply: email me at ramblinghockeyfangirl@yahoo.com with your name/alias, website (or email address if you don't have a site), and favourite blueliner! Again, each player will only be assigned once, so check the crew list before applying, and include a second choice just in case! It's not mandatory, but it'd be nice if you mentioned that you've joined somewhere on your site (if you have one).
Naturally I took Kaberle, and Lisa has Ohlund! ^_^
Speaking of Lisa, join her awesome I have PGS ring!! =Þ The concept, the site design, everything about it is great!
Oh, and on a totally unrelated note, Ottawa and New Jersey have joined Anaheim in securing their second round playoff berths. Woohoo! Toronto MUST make it through to the second round (and hopefully beyond) so that Gilmour will have a chance to play! Go Leafs go!! And of course I'm not worried about my Avs at all. They'll probably get their fouth win on Sat.
Good news: UPSET OF THE YEAR!!! DUCKS BEAT WINGS FOR SERIES SWEEP!!!!
^__________^ Sorry, mattas. I just love underdogs, and for some reason I never really came to like the Wings, probably because they defeated my Avs last year.
More good news is that my Avs won again!!! Yeah Joe Sakic with two goal and an assist! Go Tanguay and Forsberg for each getting an assist too! <3 my Avs!!
Bad news: Leafs lost in triple OT!! (ToT) Yeah, I know I called it (the loss, not the triple OT part) when the Leafs started getting majorly outshot again, but it was still SO sad to watch! The only thing that made up for that loss was the Colorado and Anaheim wins!! ^_^
Speaking of the game last night, though, I readily admit that I love Kaberle (as a player), but boy, sometimes he does some goofy stuff!! I wish highlights of his shot, on BELFOUR, had been played! Belfour looked really surprised! =3 I hope it was just because the puck was bouncing very strangely or something, because I can't think of any other reason for why that happened! But he also made some good plays last night too, like escaping the Philly forechecker (was it Primeau? one of the big names) through some nice footwork! Cherry complimented him too (although he didn't realize it at first) for bringing up his stick and giving Belfour an unobstructed view of one of the Flyer shots! ^_^ Yay "Kabby"! Boy, does that sound weird. Of course, Belfour also saved him after he jumped into the rush, and took a hard shot that bounced all the way back out and to a Flyer, whom Kaberle then couldn't quite catch up to (just a step behind). There's lots more that I could say about Kaberle, but I'm not going to go on, because doubtless no one even noticed most of the stuff I've already mentioned, because no one's as big a fan of Kaberle! ^_~
Ah, talking about Kaberle, I wore my jersey yesterday (of course) and while I was punching my Go Train ticket, this guy walked by and said: "Kaberle? Cool!" I was like "Thanks!! =D" (yes, the smile is included in my quote). I was so happy!! I was wearing a backpack too, so the name was covered, meaning the guy noticed just from the sleeve numbers!! ^_^ All the way back on the train I couldn't stop smiling and patting my sleeve numbers.
*sigh* If only Colorado wouldn't play on the same day as Toronto!! I always feel like I should wear the jersey for the game I can watch, which is Toronto. I wanna wear my Sakic though!
Oh, and about Sakic, thanks cykopaf! I went to Dominion and got the only Sakic bobblehead there was! I considered the Brodeur too, but I'm not that big of a fan (although I do admire him), so I didn't get it.
Since I'm talking about Olympians, I might as well point out that I've added a link to rules in my Team Canada Crew section of the sidebar! It's a popup window, just as a warning! I also added a new member! Welcome aboard Emma!
Do you think I would be going overboard if I started a Blueliners Crew as well? I really just want to be able to pick Kaberle!! =3 Give me your opinions, please! If people would be interested, I'll lengthen my sidebar some more and start the Blueliners Crew!
Well, Boston managed to keep itself from getting eliminated tonight with a definitive 5-1 win. Tampa, on the other hand eked out a 4-3 victory in OT. Wasn't watching the game, so I don't know how solid of a win it was, but I get the feeling they were pretty close to going down 3-0 in the series. I wonder if either Boston or Tampa is going to be able to stay alive much longer. Tomorrow I guess we'll see whether or not Detroit can come back. It'd be pretty harsh if they got swept 4-0 by the Ducks. I doubt that'd happen though.
Anyway, I just looked at today's fact on my NHL box calendar, and apparently Ilya Kovalchuk was born this day, twenty years ago in Tver, of the former Soviet Union. Isn't that crazy? He's only 8 days older than me and he's already a young NHL star! @_@ Amazing...
Oh, and for all you Canuck fans, here's an amusing quote from your voted ugliest NHL player (Brent Sopel), on strange fanmail: "Some guy sent me six bucks and told me to cut my hair. I didn't, but I kept the money." (^o^)
I must be aiming for a new record or something. Five posts in one day? Egad! Anyway, my template finally seems to be working again, so all the new Team Canada Crew members should now be listed on the left sidebar! I'm so happy to have five people now! But I still want more! So join! Please? m( _ _ )m Onegaishimasu!! Please!!
Egad, I never knew photos could be so expensive! I inquired about purchasing a reprint of the photo of Kaberle after his gamewinning goal (E2 of today's Star) and one photo is $52.90, while for two or more, it's $34.50 each!! (ToT) Why so expensive?!? Darn, I really want that photo too...Maybe if there's another good pic of Kaberle, or one of the Avs or something I'll buy two and that way it'll be a bit more worth it. Mang! I really want that photo!
I'm sorry! I said I'd shut up about Kaberle, but I just went out to buy newspapers (Toronto Sun and the Globe and Mail) so I could read the sports sections, so... Apparently Kaberle really is considered a gifted offensive player. It was mentioned again in the Star--"Kaberle, sublimely talented offensively"--so I knew the first time obviously wasn't a typo.
"I gave the puck right to Yushky," Kaberle moaned last night of his poor clearing attempt that was blocked by Dmitry Yushkevich and led to a Mark Recchi goal early in the third period.
"I should have eaten it."
^_________________^ I don't know why, but that sounded very cute (in the funny sense) to me!
Oh, and here's another Kaberle quote from TSN.ca: ``It feels pretty good but it doesn't matter who gets the goal,'' said Kaberle. ``We had 20 guys working hard.''
Y'know, yesterday was the final environmental club meeting at 9:30pm, and since the Leafs were playing, and I had been watching, I went down to it in my Kaberle jersey. One of the guys asked me if I was planning to go out to celebrate if the Leafs won. He was surprised that I would wear the jersey just to watch the game in my suite, when I answered that I wasn't planning on going out or anything. Is it that odd? Or is it just that he's clearly not a big hockey fan, so he wouldn't understand?
Anyway, I should be studying and doing some mad essay writing this week, but instead I've been updating the RHF Main Page. =P Basically I added a whole slew of Colorado, Detroit (Yzerman), and Toronto photos. My favourites are the pictures from Kaberle's gamewinning goal against New Jersey on April 1st, his gamewinning assist against Philly on the 9th, and from his first goal last night. ^_^ He looks so happy in all of them! And the one from April 1st makes it look like he's dancing, or playing Ring-Around-the-Rosie with his teammates!! Oh, and speaking of Kaberle, I also made a wallpaper from those three images, plus a big picture from my Leafs calendar. It isn't very well designed, unfortunately, but I like it because of those three celebration pictures.
Speaking of Kaberle and celebrating, I've gotta go out to buy different papers today!! I want to read everything they have to say about Kaberle! Yeah, I know people were criticizing him for the giveaway, but I choose to ignore all them and to listen to Cherry instead, who said that it wasn't his fault alone. =P As soon as he said that yesterday I felt totally justified for liking him (Cherry) despite his sometimes irritating or xenophobic statements. Oh, and I downloaded clips of the gamewinning goal and Kaberle's post-game interview from the CBC site yesterday as well!! ^_^ Heheh...I'm such a fangirl!
It's pretty funny, when I ICQ'd a friend to gush over Kaberle's performance, he was like: "are you in love?" =D I was MOST amused! My reply was: "no! I don't know him personally, I just think he's an awesome hockey player!" And he is! I think that even if the Leafs traded him (which I sincerely hope they won't do), I would still "follow" him, i.e. keep track of his performance, look for articles on him, etc. I think he's just going to keep getting better!
Anyway, you're probably all sick of hearing about Kaberle by now ^_~ so I'll stop. Apparently Blogger's still being wonky, so the template still isn't working properly. (-_-;)
Yay! Check out the new members added to the Team Canada Crew! ^_^ Thanks guys!! I'm so excited!! For everyone who hasn't joined yet, c'mon, you know you want to! ^_~
In other news, Anaheim beat Detroit 2-1!! Wow! This is definitely the upset of the year!!! I feel kind of bad for Detroit, but at the same time, I'm really happy for the Ducks; I don't think anyone expected them to do this well! Even if Detroit comes back to knock them out, people will certainly look upon their team with more respect next season!
On a purely mercenary level, I'm ecstatic about Giguere's play since I got a jersey card from a UD series 1 pack earlier this year. =P Hopefully his stellar play will increase the value of the card!
[Edit] The template function for blogger seems to be on the fritz, so here're the new members for now (I'll keep trying to update the template properly):
Woohoo!!! The first game-tying and then the 2nd OT gamewinning goals both belong to KABERLE!!!!!
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SO HAPPY!!! And I'm wearing my Kaberle jersey too!!! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!!!
My AVS won TOO!!! Tanguay, Sakic, and Forsberg all scored!! Man, if we had continued our pool into playoffs, tonight woulda been an AWESOME night for me! I think I'm going to keep track of my would-be points too!!
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Can't stop smiling!!! Ottawa won in double OT too, which makes it an awesome set of third games for Canada. Now if only Vancouver could get that last minute game-tying goal for OT, things would be just amazing! I also hope the Ducks manage to beat Detroit again, although I'm sure they're going to have a huge battle ahead of them tonight!
It's SO nice!! This one actually looks better than my away one, in terms of the way the fleur-de-lis are screened on, but I still love my away one! Anyway, Orion Athletics is a really great place to buy jerseys from, if you can find what you want for the right price (some of the jerseys are kinda pricey).
When I opened I was pleasantly surprised to find not only my Nordiques jersey inside, but also an LA Kings hat and a Leafs puck as well! ^_^ At first I was kind of like, LA, huh? But then I remembered their final game against Vancouver, which allowed Colorado to get the division title, etc. etc. and then I was more than happy to have the hat. Not that I'm likely to wear it, but the thought just worked out nicely. Oh, and I have my first puck now! I've always wondered if I should buy pucks, but then I decided not to since I wouldn't know what to do with them! So yeah, it was great to get one as a freebie, since I like having one, but I'd never buy one for myself. ^_^
Last thing: PLEASE, join my Team Canada Crew! =Þ I know I've been harping on about it, but that's only because I'm really excited about making connections with other Team Canada fans!
Heheh...I'm going to keep plugging this Crew for a while, so bear with me! Anyway, to make things a bit easier, here's the complete team roster:
Goalies:
- Ed Belfour
- Martin Brodeur (taken)
- Curtis Joseph
Defense:
- Rob Blake
- Eric Brewer
- Adam Foote
- Ed Jovanovski (taken)
- Al MacInnis
- Scott Niedermayer
- Chris Pronger
Forwards:
- Theoren Fleury
- Simon Gagné
- Jarome Iginla
- Paul Kariya
- Mario Lemieux
- Eric Lindros
- Joe Nieuwendyk
- Owen Nolan
- Mike Peca
- Joe Sakic (taken)
- Brendan Shanahan
- Ryan Smyth
- Steve Yzerman
Those're my Avs!!! That's the type of play that made me love them in the first place! No goals in the second period, but it was still oh so exciting. And then Willsie's goal. Man oh man, was that ever beautiful! Hinote wins the face-off clean; he goes to the net, gets the pass from Blake, looks like he's going to go around back, but instead makes a nifty little pass to Willsie who goes down on one knee and puts it in!!!! It's an awful description (no sportscaster am I) but when you watch it, you'll understand just how sweet it was to see!!
Oh, and ha ha ha!! In your face Detroit!! Anaheim leads the series, 2-0!!! Woohoo!!
Speaking of Detroit, remember how peeved I was when Fedorov insulted Forsberg? Well, if there were any doubters, Forsberg certainly showed that he's not a whiner today! While driving to the net he got dragged/pushed down, and was even given an extra blow to the head, but he just got right back up and into the game. Too bad he didn't get a goal or assist or something right after that, that would've been awesome.
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My Avs, my Avs, my Avs!!!
Did I mention I'm dressed as a total Sakic fangirl today? When I went outside I had my Sakic jersey AND hat on!!!
Taking inspiration from several of the various anime-themed crews I've seen on my friends' blogs, I've decided I'm going to start a Team Canada Crew! Basically it's a fun way to show your support for your favourite men's Team Canada player, while getting a bit of extra linkage as well. All you have to do is email me at ramblinghockeyfangirl@yahoo.com with your name/alias, website (if you have one, otherwise just an email address is fine), and your chosen Team Canada member. A player will only be assigned to one person, so check out the crew list first to see who's already taken, and you might want to include a second choice as well, just in case. Oh, and having said that, I've already taken Sakic; who else would I choose? ^_~ Once you've joined, it'd be nice if you would put somewhere on your site that you've joined the Crew (and a link back to this page would be even nicer) but it's not necessary. Anyway, it's going to be a very sad crew if it's just me, so please please join!!
[Edit: 10:16am] YAY!!!! First member (other than myself) to the Crew!! ^_^ My friend cykopaf! Brodeur is now gone too, so hurry hurry before your fave is taken. (I was going to say "all the good ones are taken" but everyone on the Team is good--they're Canada's best, after all--so unless I get a heck of a lot of members, there'll still be lots of choice.)
[Edit: 11:00am] Can you tell I'm trying to keep the stuff about the Team Canada Crew on top? =Þ Anyway, even though I've been trying to avoid the subject, I feel that I should be strong and mention the Leafs' trouncing last night. (ToT) Everyone knew the Leafs' habit of being horrendously outshot would bite them in the behind sooner or later. Hopefully the fact that it was sooner will help them to resolve the problem sooner rather than later!!
Oh, and on a totally random note, you know you're thinking WAY too much about hockey when you see an ad for the "Natuzzi" line of furniture (or something) and you instantly think: NAslund and BerTUZZI. (^o^;) I'm not even a huge Canucks fan (although I definitely want them to beat St. Louis)!
If I hadn't hit Yonge Sports yesterday, I would be very sad today, considering the way my poor Avs got toasted by the Wild. (ToT) I was rather disappointed with the way in which the Canucks lost as well.
(-_-;) Except for New Jersey, all the top seed teams have lost their first games!! I was happy about it in the cases of Toronto, Edmonton and Anaheim, but not anything else.
Heh, speaking of Anaheim, I wonder if my Giguerre jersey card will be worth more now that he's brought some positive attention to himself. =Þ
Anyway, my main point is, I went to Yonge Sports yesterday to place my orders for my customized jerseys!!!! I went down around 2pm to pick 'em up, and man, that was definitely the LONGEST subway ride ever!!! i was SO excited. But it was pretty anti-climatic when I actually got there. What happened was the guy showed me the Sakic jersey first, and that was fine, wonderful even, but my Leafs...Who the heck is KaberEL?!? I really wonder what my face looked like when I saw it! =Þ I double-checked the paper that had the customization on it, and that was fine, so it wasn't my mistake. Anyway, it all worked out fine, since they were able to redo it fairly quickly (I went to the Eaton Centre for a while before going back), but it kind of took the excitement out of the jerseys.
Even that lack of excitement didn't last long though. As soon as I got off the subway it hit me that I finally have my beloved Sakic and Kaberle jerseys, and I started grinning maniacally!! I just can't stop smiling!!!! Since the Leafs have a game tonight I'm wearing my Kaberle, and tomorrow will be my Sakic!!!
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I'm SO excited!! I'll have my Sakic jersey and my Sakic cap!! ^_^ Yay!!
Oh yeah! Who was the one with the oh so nifty low pass to Renberg for the gamewinning goal? KABERLE!!! I was SO excited when I heard "Kaberle shoots, he scores!!" Of course, it was actually Renberg who scored, but hey, Kaberle's pass was so sweet, I didn't mind at all. WOOHOO!!
And Al Mo!! Yay for Al Mo's first Leaf hat trick in the post-season since like 1996, and the first one on the road since 1993 (or something like that)! Pretty sweet considering that people were saying how he tends to disappear during the post-season. How's that for making his mark? ^_^
Tonight has been a great night for hockey! I won two jerseys, a Canucks away skate and Minnesota North Stars home jersey for my friend! Edmonton won too! I'm kind of bitter that Salo waited until the post-season to start showing his ability, but I'm happy that Edmonton won. The Sens, though, who'd a thunk? I have a feeling they'll come back for their next game with a vengeance though.
Those Leafs though, almost blowing another two-goal lead. I'm glad that they won, but I wish it could've been a tighter win. Anyway, tomorrow's the Avs game, so I'm going to wear my Nordiques jersey to support them!! Go Avs go!!
Woohoo!! I read one sentence in the Star today, and it made me totally happy and excited! This is why I have a subscription to the star! Not only do they have fabulously amusing butt articles (mainly by Rosie DiManno), but they also have great unplugged features and quality one-liners that stick in your head. Oh, and this is the sentence I was raving about, by the way: "Toronto has the goaltender in Belfour, and sublimely gifted offensive players in Mats Sundin, Alexander Mogilny, and Tomas Kaberle (emphasis added)".
(^_______^) If my smile got any wider, my face would crack!! I have a 20th Century China term test today, and I don't even care anymore, I'm so happy to have read that line! I'm sure it was a mistake (maybe they meant Antropov? I dunno), but I don't really care. Kaberle. Sublimely gifted offensive player. Woohoo!!
I'm so excited about playoff time! I'm almost tempted to take out a subscription to the Globe too, just so I can get their coverage on the playoffs as well!
Let's see, I got my Leafs away adult medium (for wearing outside, over bulky winter clothing) jersey for Christmas; then a few weeks ago I got the Nordiques away youth large/extra-large off of eBay; my mom just said she'll buy me a jersey for my birthday, which I plan to be the Avs away youth large/extra-large jersey with Sakic customization; and I just ordered a Nordiques home youth large/extra-large jersey!!! ^_^ My list is basically going to be complete very soon! Plus a bonus; I wasn't planning on getting the Nordiques home jersey, but it was only $24.94 US (less than $40 CDN) including shipping, so how could I resist? =Þ Oh, and once I get my tax return I'm probably going to get my Kaberle away youth large/extra-large jersey!!
Woohoo! Buying jerseys is one of the rare times when I'm glad to be a short girl! If I fit properly into an adult medium, I'd probably feel compelled to buy authentic jerseys, but since I can't fit them anyway, I can buy replicas without feeling like I'm missing out. Not only that, but I doubt that I'd be able to buy anything but youth-sized Nordiques jerseys for so cheap. ^_^ It's been a great couple of days for hockey.
Woohoo!! Colorado has it's ninth division title!!! LA has redeemed itself by beating Vancouver!! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!!!!! (Sorry Lisa).
Not only that, but Forsberg finished with the most points (1G, 2A today, for a total of 106!) and Hejduk finished with the most goals (50, including today)!!!
This isn't exactly hockey-related, but I just wanted to wish LISA, a fellow hockey fanatic and blogger a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I'm sure the Canucks will win tonight, just for you! (Of course, they're playing Phoenix, so it's not exactly anything special, but it's the thought, right?) =Þ
Darn the Season!!
Argh!! Kaberle scores the gamewinning OT goal and there isn't a single picture of him in the paper today!!! Why?!? Because of all the stupid other sports! Grrrrrrr.... o(><;)(;><)o Stupid front page picture of Jerome Williams....It isn't even an exciting picture! The caption reads: "Toronto's Jerome Williams flops to the floor last night after colliding with Detroit's Mehmet Okur, successfully drawing a charging foul call on the Pistons player". Sounds like the NBA equivalent of diving to me, and they think this is such a special picture that it deserves front page treatment? (-_-#)
Man, I miss the time, around October, I think, when there weren't really any other sports, so all the coverage was basically hockey! If Kaberle had scored the OT winner then, you can bet there would've been at least one picture of him! Bah humbug!!
Watched the highlight on TSN.ca! Wonder if I can get someone to tape Molson That's Hockey 2 for me, since I'm hoping they'll be playing that highlight... =P I really should bring a blank tape to res with me for cases such as this. I also asked a friend to tape "The Season - Detroit Red Wings - Part I" even though I'm not a big Red Wings fan. *shrugs* I just like taping hockey programs.
Anyway, I think Kaberle scoring the gamewinning OT goal deserves a dance!
Woohoo! Apparently Kaberle was AWESOME tonight! He had the gamewinning OT goal, AND he assisted in both of the other Toronto goals!! Why, oh why did I choose not to watch the game tonight? (ToT) Hopefully they will show Kaberle's gamewinner on the highlights...I am going to go check now!!
